Cruise and ferry holidays encompass a very different way to travel to your favourite destinations, offering a greener alternative to other modes of travel and a cost-effective solution to multi-destination holidays.

Ferry crossings are available from a choice of UK ports and offer day trips to Ireland, France and Spain from the likes of Brittany Ferries, Stena Line, P&O Ferries and Irish Ferries or across to the Scandinavian shores from DFDS. Many of the ferry companies will also offer package deals with short break stay and cruise options, offering accommodation onboard and time to explore your destination cities.

Cruises have grown exponentially in popularity alongside the advancements in shipbuilding itself. Cruise ships now are often referred to as floating hotels, as they offer such a wide range of features onboard. These can include a number of pools, cinemas, entertainment and shows with comedy and live music, games, shops and all day dining on menus from world famous celebrity chefs.

Fly cruise options include flights as a part of the package either flying to your port of departure or sailing from the UK to your intended destination and returning home by air. With this and all the cruise options; special offers can include onboard spending money, a choice of cabin accommodation and onboard food, entertainment and leisure, plus significant savings for booking in advance online.

While a cruise on a luxury liner was once only affordable for the upper classes; cruises can now offer a more budget-friendly way to visit multiple destinations. A Western Mediterranean cruise for example, may stop in top city break locations such as Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon, Monte Carlo and Florence or an Eastern Caribbean cruise could help you island hop round Barbados, St Kitts, St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St Maarten, St Vincent and Grenada. World cruises are the more long haul option with destinations across the Americas and Australasia or short break cruises may feature Eastern Europe and the Baltic seas. Additional cruises may take in the Atlantic or Red Sea, with a range of stops along the way. Special offers from providers found through the TravelPixel site include holiday merchants with dedicated cruise sections such as Thomson, Page & Moy, Thomas Cook and Virgin Holidays and cruise specialists like P&O Cruises.